Phantom Thieves of Hope - A Danganronpa X Persona 5 Story.

Chapter 59: Sink or Swim

Become Friends - Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

"Not to sound ignorant or anything like that," Hifumi Yamada piped up as he and his classmates arrived at the court, "but would anybody care to remind me what it is we are gathered here for?"

"Come on, Yamada," Junko rolled her eyes, "We're here to support Hina-chan at her tryouts. If she manages to make the cut at this tournament, and if people notice her, then she'll be able to enter the actual Olympic Games for swimming!"

"Correct! This is rather a big deal," Taka added, "Asahina-san has been working most of her life for the sake of these tryouts. We all received formal invitations, so we must come to show our support. See? Even Togami-san showed up to do his part."

"I promised I would come. I never promised that I would enjoy it," Byakuya rolled his eyes, "Tch my butler even provided me a VIP pass for some reason..."

"Oh, I have one of those too!" Makoto chimed in, "Hina gave me one the other day after we finished jogging together."

Makoto reached into his pocket and took out the special pass that Hina had given him. Staring at it, he recalled the conversation that they'd had a few days prior.

[A FEW DAYS AGO...]

"Hoo! Wow! You almost beat me that time!"

"Still didn't quite make it though...Ugh...I figured I'd get a break after Sports Day was over, but I guess not."

"Hehe...Sorry I pushed you again," Hina handed Makoto a water bottle after they'd done a race around the track, "I'm just trying to make sure I push myself as much as possible. Gotta make sure my arms and legs are in good working order for the tryouts. You are coming to that, aren't you?"

"Of course I am!" Makoto enthused, "I wouldn't miss it for the world! Still, it's pretty amazing. You're actually gonna be an Olympic Swimmer! I know that was always the plan, but you've gotta be one of the youngest people to ever make it in."

"That's actually not true. The youngest person to ever win a Gold Medal for swimming is from Japan too. Kyoko Iwasaki is her name," Hina told him, "My old coach told me about her. She had just turned 14 years old when she won the medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992."

"14!?" Makoto exclaimed, "How in the hell was that woman never an Ultimate!?"

"Well, she wasn't high-school age, so I guess she doesn't count," Hina shrugged, "and hey, what's with you buttering me up like that? These are tryouts! Don't call me an "Olympic Swimmer" when I haven't even made the cut yet!"

"I just have that much faith in you," Makoto winked.

"Well, I appreciate that," Hina seemed to blush slightly, "and I promise I'll do my best, but you've gotta remember, a lot of the people that I'm up against have been training for events like this their whole lives. I'm just getting by on my passion for sports. So don't be too disappointed if I end up failing to make the cut. And actually, between you and me...I was thinking of going on a hiatus or something after this event, regardless of whether I win or lose."

"Hiatus?" Makoto repeated, "What, you're taking a break? That's not like you. You aren't comfortable unless you're moving around doing something."

"It's...a little difficult to explain," Hina shrugged, "Honestly, I'm not sure what it is, but I talked to my new coach, Donyokuna-sensei, about it. She seemed to think I was fine, but...I've just been feeling really stressed, exhausted, and emotionally drained lately. I don't really get what's going on."